Toowoomba-based singer-songwriter Jude York has released his song ‘I Won't Need To Dream’ that he will perform at ‘Eurovision - Australia Decides' 2020 on the Gold Coast.
Back in October 2021 Jude York was revealed as the first songwriter with an entry that was selected from 700 songs submitted via the SBS song portal. In December it was revealed that Jude York will be the artist performing his own entry on the Australia Decides stage.
Jude's Australia Decides 2022 entry ‘I Won’t Need to Dream’ was co-written by Jude and Billy Stonecipher, a songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia (USA). It was produced in Jude's garden shed.
In an interview with Aussievision Jude York shared how they came up with the song:
"Basically we were both feeling quite down in the dumps the day we wrote it. We were kind of feeling a little bit defeated. I think this is a common experience for aspiring musicians. We kind of decided we wanted to write the song we needed to hear and that message that we hope everyone else feeling down and really pessimistic about their own life can feel uplifted after listening to it."
The pair were inspired by uplifting optimistic classic songs of the 1930s and 1940s like ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and ‘Dream’ by the Pied Pipers, but have given the song a 21st century twist.
The song was originally written as a piano ballad without Australia Decides in mind. However, when Jude and Billy decided to submit the song, they made the track longer in order to meet the submission criteria: they returned to the studio to give it a revamp with a "newer section which comes in halfway" and gives the song a "really big - like - anthemic positive feel".
About the song Billy Stonecipher shared on his Instagram:
"We wrote the song across continents on Zoom. 7pm my time and 9am his. As soon as we finished we knew it had magic in it."
Jude joins eleven other acts for the final of 'Eurovision - Australia Decides' on February 26 on the Gold Coast.
‘I Won't Need To Dream’ is available now on iTunes and streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.